PLOS Climate PhD interview: Yasser Haddad

Continuing a series of interviews with PhD students in climate research, PLOS Climate speaks to Yasser Haddad of ETH Zürich.

What did you study before your PhD, and why did you decide to go on to do a PhD?

My academic career was not linear. I studied Communication Systems in my bachelor and went on to complete a Master’s in data science. At every stage, I was trying to find myself and figure out what I am most interested in. During my Master’s, I realized that many traditional tech jobs were not aligned with my values, so I began looking for research projects in social, political as well as environmental sciences. This is when I found a project on the use of machine learning in weather forecasting, led by amazing supervisors, one of which also became my Master’s thesis supervisor. After completing my studies, I searched for roles in the private and public sectors, in the field of environmental sciences or sustainability, preferably involving data analysis and being policy relevant. When most did not work out or did not match what I was looking for, I recognized that a PhD might be more suitable. My Master’s thesis supervisor shared with me a PhD opportunity that matched my criteria, I applied and well, here I am!

Could you tell us about your project? What are the key questions you’re hoping to address, and what methods/approaches are you using?

My project is funded through the SPEED2ZERO initiative, which aims to bring together climate, energy and biodiversity research to develop climate-resilient, biodiversity-positive energy transition pathways for Switzerland. More specifically, my work sits at the interface between climate science and energy systems modelling. In times when the transition away from fossil fuels is more needed than ever, it is important to plan this endeavour considering all the risks. This includes the susceptibility of new renewable energy sources to climate change and variability. In my thesis, I try to provide some answers to the following questions:

• How does climate change and variability impact renewable electricity supply alongside  heating and cooling demand in Europe, from local to continental scales?
• How does climate change and variability affect hydropower supply in Switzerland, in the past, present and future?

In this work, we draw on a vast range of hydroclimatic data, such as EURO-CORDEX simulations or local Swiss hydrological simulations. Our approach combines established physical modelling with custom methods to convert climate to energy variables at multiple scales. We emphasize modelling at high spatial and temporal resolution to increase the usability of our results. It enables us to model climate impacts at the power plant level and provide a more realistic picture of existing and future infrastructure.

What excites you most about your project, and about the wider field?

Since my Master’s, I have always loved working on interdisciplinary projects, exploring different topics and their links across fields. In an ever more siloed world, interdisciplinary work reveals how connected everything is. More specifically, the intersection of climate science and energy systems modelling is a perfect example. It is gaining momentum as its relevance is becoming more evident with direct real-world applications on policy and industry.

Another aspect that I particularly enjoy is the human dimension. You get to meet and collaborate with many people, widening your horizon and showing that academia is a team sport as well. It certainly comes with its share of challenges. It gets you out of your comfort zone, forces you to find a common ground and understand each other’s disciplines, as well as navigate different methodologies and standards. However, I truly believe it makes us better researchers and communicators!

Finally, as a data scientist by training, I find a particular “nerdy” joy in the technical side of the project. Large data handling , modelling and analysis allows me to apply the skills that I particularly enjoyed during my studies to a field that aligns with my values.

Where you would like to take your career next?

As I’m nearing the end of my doctoral studies, I sat down and thought about this question quite a bit. I enjoyed the freedom, the flexibility, the curiosity-driven work and the drive to keep learning that academia offers. I am therefore interested in pursuing a postdoc to delve even deeper into topics related to climate impacts and their intersection with energy science.

However, my long-term vision lies outside of academia. After a postdoc, I aim to transition into the public sector. I want to continue honing my data analysis skills in a role that has direct impact on the ground, whether that’s informing climate or energy policies or helping build climate resilience.

What are your thoughts on the future of climate research? 

The last decades of climate research have been essential to better understand our system and shape and inform processes like the IPCC and the COP. Recently, we have seen a surge in work on climate attribution and climate impacts on different sectors. I see these two aspects as fundamental going forward; they don’t only help understand what’s already happening and what’s to come, but also provide the evidence needed to accelerate climate action and inform climate litigation.

Furthermore, we must expand research at the interface between climate and social and political sciences: the climate crisis is, inherently, a societal and political issue.

Finally, I hope climate research will gain more traction in the Global South, backed by direct investment in local institutions. It is essential that we move away from neocolonial patterns where research on the Global South is only conducted by the Global North. Bridging these large data and knowledge gaps, while empowering researchers worldwide, must be a priority for the future of climate research.